HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-12-14, Page 1«w***»~—... jwusA ^iija IJ1BHIOLUUWIIU'- L.g?THW
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
Only 80%
of claims
accepted
by FPB
The waiting game of seeing who
gets paid how much to compensate
for losses suffered in the October
collapse of Brussels Stockyards has
become more like a lottery as beef
producers wait to see who will be the
winners.
Gill Shaw of the Ontario Beef
VOL. 4 NO. 50 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1988.45 CENTS Financial Protection Fund Board
(FPB) told The Citizen Monday that
Many hands make light work, and in less than a day the twisted mass of
wreckage left behind at the Siebolt Siertsema farm at RR1, Auburn, the
result of a$250,000 fire on December 4, was cleaned up when a crew of 30-35
friends and neighbours gathered to lend a hand. The women prepared meals
and fed the crew, while the men braved bitter winds to clean the debris,
above, from the main barn last Wednesday, where many of the same men
had risked their lives the night of the fire rescuing the Siertsema’s
high-production dairy herd.
about 80 per cent of the claims
submitted to theboard prior to its
meeting in Toronto on December 5
had been approved, and that the
cheques for the insured 90 per cent of
those dollars were in the mail to
producers.
But he also admitted that “about
20 per cent’’ of the 100 claims
submitted, for a total of $800,000 had
been rejected by the board, with the
board approving payment of only
about $500,000 of that total. He
refused to give the reason that close
to $300,000 in claims had been
turned down, but cited several
reasons “that could apply.’’
“Basically (the rejected claims)
fell outside the guidelines of the
(FPB) program, which you must
remember was set up by beef
producers themselves, ’ ’ he said. He
went on to explain several of the
reasons why a claim might be
rejected, including the one that
maintains a producer must cash a
cheque received in payment for
slaughter cattle within five banking
days of receiving it. He added tnat
rejected producers could appeal the
board’s decision, but indicated they
would have to produce “some pretty
strong new evidence’ ’ before the
Continued on page 10
Rookie councillors
learn ropes
at Blyth council
Brussels council sworn in at inaugural
Brussels Village council held its
inaugural meeting on December 6,
immediately following the swear
ing-in of council and PUC members
by Rev. Charles Carpentier, who
admonished each one in turn to
“look well after your job and after
the interests of those who elected
you.’’
Returned Reeve J. Gordon Work
man and returned councillor Bruce
Hahn were the first to be sworn in,
followed by new councillors Dave
Hastings, Mary Stretton and Greg
Wilson, and by returned PUC
member Henry Exel and new PUC
memberGerry Wheeler. Clerk-trea
surer Hugh Hanly. assistant clerk
Donna White and Public Works
employee Don Crawford were also in
attendance throughout the meeting.
“ Welcome to Dodge City coun
cil.’’joked Reeve Workman in a
reference to the some times-fiery
sessions of an earlier council. He
then warned all present that all
decisions regarding council busi
ness “will be made in this chamber,
and once a decision is made, it’s
made. You can’t change your mind
the next day.”
The first item of business for the
newlv-elected council was to ask Mr.
Hanly to prepare an amending bylaw
by.the ue.At meeting to scrap the
minute of site he'd'fraditioHaliy usdd
council of which he is aware uses the
procedure, even though Mr. Hahn
Continued on page 2
to open Brussels council meetings.
Discussion was opened with Reeve
Workman pointing out that no other
Citizen's Christmas hours
There are only two issues of The
Citizen left in 1988, this issue and the
the special Christmas issue of next
week.
The Citizen will not publish on
December 28 in order to give staff
vacation time.
Since Christmas is on a Sunday
this week deadlines will remain the
Christmas issue that will be deliver
ed on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The one
on Wednesday, Ded.’^f. Thetme
exception is that any advertising for
editorial matter specifically for the
Christmas section of the paper
should be received by Friday at 4
p.m.
Because of the vacation period for
thepaper, theCitizen’sBrussels
office will be open on Dec. 21, then
closed until Dec. 28. The Blyth office
will close Dec. 22 and reopen Dec.
With four rookie councillors tak
ing part in their first meeting, Blyth
village council spent a night working
slowly through a light agenda when
the inaugural meetingof council was
held Dec. 6.
Councillors Ken Brown, Shirley
Fyfe, Dave Lee and Dave Medd as
well as returning Reeve Albert
Wasson were sworn in at the
beginning of the meeting.
Rev. John Roberts spoke to the
council about the offices they have
taken on. In any kind of government
there is a moral obligation as well as
a legal obligation, he said. Morality
in government depends on adhesion
to certain standards, he told the
council. He also stressed the aspect
of service in their jobs. Those who
take part in government are servants
and are accountable to the elector
ate, he said.
Reeve Wasson thanked Rev.
Roberts and said the ceremony
brings home to the councillors the
seriousness of their new positions.
The ramifications of the Blyth
Festival’s new building on Dinsley
Street caused more discussion than
any other topic in the first meeting.
The discussion started when Merv
Ritchie, village works department
foreman expressed concern about
the ability of the storm drain in the
area tocarry the extra roof runoff
that will be caused by the new
building attached to the Festival’s
Continued on page 6